Bowling Green Falcons
Mid-American Conference
Suspend disbelief for a moment. How can two schools barely a half-hour apart be placed in different divisions of the MAC? That’s what Bowling Green’s situation is, but the team is not complaining. Being out of the Northern Illinois-Ball State-Toledo race in the MAC West helped the Falcons tie for second in the East with Ohio. It was a season of mixed results for Bowling Green, as the team was utterly shellacked by Virginia Tech but came within two touchdowns of knocking off the vaunted Florida Gators. This will be Bowling Green’s first bowl trip since 2009, when it lost the Humanitarian Bowl, but it is still a solid improvement from a 2-10 finish in 2010.
2012 Record: 8-4, 6-2
Coach: Dave Clawson
Coach Bowl Record: 0-1
Big Wins: 9/8 Idaho (21-13), 11/7 at Ohio (26-14)
Bad Losses: 9/15 at Toledo (15-27), 11/17 Kent State (24-31)
Strengths:
Bowling Green’s defense has helped the team stay in games it should have lost. The Falcons have allowed an average of 15.8 points per game, the best in the MAC and ninth overall among all FBS Division I programs. It starts with Chris Jones, a terrifying defensive threat who could be an NFL player one day if he keeps up these stats. Jones only has 41 tackles, but 19 of those tackles were for loss and his 12.5 sacks are among the most in the nation. Bowling Green is adept at causing turnovers as well, as evidenced by 10 fumble recoveries and Jude Adjei-Barimah’s four interceptions. The Falcons also have broken up 36 passes.
Weaknesses:
For as strong as the defense is at Bowling Green, the offense has been suspect most of the year. A subpar kicking game with 7-for-15 on field goals made hasn’t helped, but neither have the 14 touchdowns to 12 interceptions thrown by quarterback Matt Schilz. Chris Gallon and Shawn Joplin are strong receivers but neither possesses that dominant 1,000-yard DNA most receivers need to move on to the pros. Its 23.2 scoring average is near the bottom of the league, and its conversion rate of 36 percent on both third downs and fourth downs doesn’t inspire confidence.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Anthon Samuel, RB, 966 yards
Passing: Matt Schilz, QB, 2,426 yards
Receiving: Chris Gallon, WR, 647 yards
Tackles: Gabe Martin, LB, 69
Sacks: Chris Jones, DT, 12.5
Interceptions: Jude Adjei-Barimah, LB, 4
2012 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 157.42 (67th in nation, 8th in conference)
Passing Offense: 216.50 (83, 9)
Total Offense: 373.92 (86, 11)
Scoring Offense: 23.17 (91, 10)
Rushing Defense: 116.67 (15, 1)
Pass Defense: 173.00 (7, 1)
Total Defense: 289.67 (7, 1)
Scoring Defense: 15.75 (9, 1)
Turnover Margin: .33 (44, 5)
Sacks: 3.08 (9, 1)
Sacks Allowed: 1.08 (17, 3)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2009 Humanitarian Bowl Idaho (42-43)
2007 GMAC Bowl Tulsa (7-63)
2004 GMAC Bowl Memphis (52-35)
2003 Motor City Bowl Northwestern (28-24)
1992 Las Vegas Bowl Nevada (35-34)
*all team stats through 11/24
